Beauly Priory

Beauly Priory was founded in about 1230 by one of the Bisset
family, who were lords of the Aird to the west of Inverness. It later came under
the protection of the Frasers of Lovat, who made some additions to the
buildings. Towards the end of the Middle Ages the priory underwent a revival
under the leadership of Robert Reid. abbot of Kinloss. By that time it had
transferred its allegiance from the Valliscaulian to the Cistercian order.

In its original form the church was probably an elongated
triangle, with no more than a timber screen between the monks' choir and the
nave, where the lay folk might be admitted. A chapel or sacristy block was
attached to its north side. At some stage part of the east monastic range was
absorbed as a chapel, giving the building its present cross-shaped plan. In the
early 15th century another chapel was added to the north, and a century later
the west end was rebuilt. By 1780 most of the domestic buildings of the priory
had disappeared. Parts of them would have been destroyed soon after the
Reformation in 1560 and other parts were removed to build Oliver Cromwell's
citadel in Inverness in 1653.

In
the summer of 1564 Mary, Queen of Scots travelled through the Highlands to
Easter Ross. She stopped at Beauly Priory before visiting Dingwall, capital of
the Earldom of Ross. It is known that Mary was touched by the beauty of the
priory, which was enhanced by a fine orchard. She is reputed to have said:
"Oui, c'est un beau lieu" (Yes, it is a beautiful place), a pun on the
name of the Priory, which is derived from Bello Loco, Latin for "beautiful
place". Mary frequently stayed in monasteries during her progresses,
because they had the necessary accommodation and supplies for royal guests. Her
host, Walter Reid, was the Protestant commendator of Kinloss Abbey and Beauly
Priory. During the civil wars, which followed the flight of Mary into England in
1568, Reid initially favoured the Queen's Party, but he later joined the King's
Party, the supporters of the infant James VI.